


Getting Lost With You

by amarmeme



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Adorable Merrill, Carver is flustered, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Lost Together, Short & Sweet, Wounded Coast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 15:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12774150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amarmeme/pseuds/amarmeme
Summary: Merrill and Carver get lost on the Wounded Coast, but maybe it's not all bad.





	Getting Lost With You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Floranna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Floranna/gifts), [nlans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nlans/gifts), [Shae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shae/gifts).



> This is pure fluff :D

They were lost in the middle of the Wounded Coast. It wasn't Merrill's fault, he couldn't remember the way either, but she kept insisting it was so, worrying about Hawke needing them and swearing to the Creators. Carver tried to calm her down, but he and Merrill could never speak to each other properly. 

“Oh, I recognize this bush! It's very fluffy isn't it? Carver?”

He scratched his neck, trying not to blush at her talking about fluffy bushes. 

“It's ah, not looking familiar to me.”

“Oh, we’ll be out here alone forever! I hope Hawke isn't mad -- I just got so turned around, everything looks quite the same.” 

She frowned, straining on her toes to differentiate one sand pile from another. 

The sun was beginning to set, and although he knew she could keep herself safe, Carver still wanted to protect her somehow. Although the more she brought up his sister, the more Carver wanted to grind his teeth. He'd found Merrill after all, not his sister. Though, now they were both stuck out in the dunes, sure prey for whatever lurked out here at night. 

“It's getting dark,” he said.

Merrill squinted at the setting sun as a creature howled in the distance. It's brethren chimed in, a pack of wolves or wild dogs howling at what he hoped wasn't them. She came back to his side, popping off the dune and holding her staff tight.

“Should we look for shelter?” Her singsong voice seemed a little flatter, a little less sure. “Do you think they’ll follow?” 

“If they come, it's nothing we can't handle.” He tried to sound brave. He wasn't sure if it worked. 

They moved swiftly, back to the direction of the shore line. There were caves along the water somewhere, under a great rock bridge where they could tuck away for the night and not have to worry nearly as much about wolves or the wind or the cold. And maybe in the morning they'd know how to find the path back from there, seeing Carver had been to the caves before. Merrill lit a small flame at the end of her staff once the sun really set, a bobbing light to help them see the path better. Still, Carver nearly tripped on jagged rocks more than once, catching himself just before he wrecked his leg. Merrill scooted closer, her warm little body nearly wedged up against him to better share the low light. 

They scurried like a pair of beetles across the sands. Merrill was faster, lighter. She could scale the dunes easier, not sinking in nearly so deep. He could smell the water though. Soon they'd be able to walk on the wet shoreline. He hated to admit it, but Carver was exhausted. When he thought Merrill had gone missing, his heart had nearly burst out of his chest, as fast as it raced. Then they'd wandered for hours. 

Merrill pressed ahead as the sounds of waves crashing became apparent. She jumped back into view a moment later, bringing the light with her.

“I see the caves! Come on, Carver, hurry!” He picked up the pace, pushing past discomfort and catching up to her as the dune levelled out. “It's very beautiful out here,” she mused, staring at the stars over the sea. “Don't you think?” 

She spun back to look at him, cheeks pink from exertion, eyes glowing in the firelight. The moon shone off her dark hair. She looked like a creature too precious for him by far, as if she'd burst up out of the sea just now to lure him to his demise. It would work too; he'd follow her anywhere. 

“It is beautiful,” he said.

The caves were a short walk away down the shore. Carver picked the one highest off the beach in case the tide came in. They crawled up rocks and entered their little hiding spot for the night. It was a deep cave, extending fairly far back. They picked their way through more rocks inside until they found a flat spot to rest, a ledge of rock behind them to lean against. Merrill found some driftwood near an abandoned campfire farther back, and set up a new one by their feet. 

“You’ve had practice,” Carver said, watching her work quickly.

“Making a fire?” She lobbed a ball of flame at the little pile. It caught, but died down once the initial rush of magical flames went out. “Yes I suppose I do. I know how to light it without the magic, but well, I'm very tired.”

“I'd freeze without you,” Carver said.

“But you're already so warm,” she said. Then flushing, Merrill toyed with the edge of her tunic. “Oh, the fire. I could have showed you how,” she chirped. “It'll have to be next time.”

He smiled. The next time they got lost together? He'd wanted to be alone with Merrill for a long time, but this wasn't exactly how he'd pictured it. They had nothing with them, not expecting an overnight trip to the coast. No supplies, not anything to keep them warm besides what Merrill could do with her fingertips. He was grateful for her knowledge and her gifts. There was still a damp chill coming in from the sea though, as far back and sheltered as they were, and Merrill shivered at the edge of their little refuge. That wouldn't do.

“Do you want to-- are you sure you wouldn't be warmer if--” he stammered like a fool. 

Merrill blinked at him, cocking her head just so as he tried to talk. Her smile was still there, teeth beginning to chatter. Carver was useless at words, he leaned over and pulled Merrill gently by the hand towards his place against the rock ledge. She uncrossed her legs and rose, only to drop down at his side, beneath his outstretched arm. He hugged her against him, crossing his arms over his chest. Only when she was there he thought of something to say. 

“You’re so small, I was worried you'd get too cold.” He looked out of the cave, staring straight ahead. His face burned hotly, and not because of the flames.

Merrill snuggled against him, arms wrapping around his middle, head against his chest. If he leaned his chin down just a bit more, she'd fit perfectly beneath it. She stopped shivering in his embrace, and Carver sighed with relief. 

“What's the matter?”

Nothing anymore,” he admitted. She smelled faintly of daisies, a whiff of flowers in the middle of sea coast stench. 

“I'm glad we're together,” she said. “I always thought if I had to get lost, I'd hope it was with you. Not that I was trying to get lost, it just happened, and I was so glad that you found me and oh I'm starting to babble.”

Carver chuckled. “It's okay, Merrill. I know what you mean.”

“Really?” She beamed at him. Her green eyes reflected the crackling fire, reminding him of the fierce mage she actually was. In his arms though, smiling up at him, Carver didn't see her as a fearsome blood mage. She was sweet and special, and the most adorable girl he'd ever met. 

“Yes,” he said. Her lithe frame pressed up against him was tantalizing. It made him want more, and then, he was determined to make it so in time. Merrill really was precious to him, but now wasn't the right moment. She deserved more than a tussle in a rocky cave. Finding some courage, he bent over and kissed her softly. She held her breath as his lips pressed against hers, but squeezed him tighter after, sighing. “There's no one I'd rather be with than you.” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This ship is so sweet. I just want to squeeze them together!


End file.
